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The Enchanted (Faerie Tale, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First of all, all I can say is what a beautiful and enchanting world Genevra Thorne has created with fairies and talking trees and all sorts of wonders.
Secondly, her characters are so well developed. I loved Taryn's free and playful spirit and Prince Gabriel's tough yet kind demeanor. Also, the way their relationship builds is just a perfect speed throughout the novel. I absolutely LOVED this book! Anyone who enjoys fairy tales and romance will want to read this. I cannot wait for the next one! So, go ahead and do yourself a favor: get The Enchanted and start reading. :) *I received this book at the GoodReads Lovers of Paranormal Group for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
  
Original Review posted at <a title="The Ambrose Beacon by Alena Gouveia" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-the-ambrose-beacon-by-alena-gouveia.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts<a/>

Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste, along with pictures and captions
<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> Review copy provided by author for review</i>
 
     Let me blunt about The Ambrose Beacon: it was boring. It also became the third unfortunate book that lands into my DNF list and the first fantasy book – oh wait. Not exactly the first... does the Caster Chronicles count as Fantasy, or does it count as Paranormal? If it counts as paranormal, then The Ambrose Beacon became the unfortunate first fantasy book I didn't finish.

      So essentially, I give fair warning: I rated and reviewed it based on what I could manage to read so far. Which, I think I was being a bit lenient about, but I didn't throw the book against the wall, so it certainly didn't deserve a lower rating.

      Now allow me to tell why I found it boring, and my general thoughts on it:

      Larry and Jerry. They sound so similar (they rhyme as well), that I was befuddled and mistakenly read Jerry as Larry and vice-versa when it was really the other way around. They're best friends and one of them is the main character. How confusing can that get?

     The characters don't seem to be in depth. While I get the why for Harper and Arianna, the other characters simply seem virtually pancake-like (no offense). Add to the fact that it suddenly switches POVs without some sort of sign. One minute it's Cole, the next? Dinah, Jerry, Harper, Vaughn, etc. >_<

      Fairies. Probably one of my favorite things to read about, and it's not because they're sparkly and pretty and whatnot. But I was actually interested in Gouveia's take on fairies when the word was
mentioned in the earliest parts of the book.

      Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be well written, nor realistic. I mean, doing magic in public. In front of human eyewitnesses. That doesn't sound like the typical faery to me that tries to not let the human world find out about them because then it's all, "IT'S THE APOCALYPSE. I must be seeing things," or maybe, "HOLY MONKEYS. FAIRIES EXIST" *rubs eyes to make sure it's not an illusion.* But the fairies here seem like a bounce off of Fantastic Four (even though I haven't watched the movie). More like superheroes than the sidhe.
 
     The same thing is repeated, but in different variations. Oh hooray. Demons, demons and more demons. Same kind of demon, which isn't a problem for me, but the very fact that they tend to be doing the same thing over and over and over again throughout the entire book, which is the main reason why I stopped (I really did stop at exactly 50%). There's not a lot going on, although maybe if I had the time and gave the book further chances, there might be other things going on rather than "OMG, THERE'S A DEMON THAT WANTS MY HEAD ON A PLATTER. RUN." (or in the case here, it's fight to the death.)

     Generally I like fantasy. I love the creative worlds and character and creatures made up that gives me a free ticket to travel – okay, that applies to any book really – without having to move a single inch, and the very fact that you can't exactly buy a plane ticket to the area in the first place. Someone tell me if we can really buy a plane ticket to the Faery Realms if you so disagree on that fact. Of course... I wouldn't exactly try and mess with fairies in the first place.

      I tried liking the story. I thought first thought it was because of reading The Jungle, which is dreadfully boring, and it may have influenced my thoughts on this one. Then I read Allegiant for awhile and came back to it. It didn't work out well either (and Allegiant didn't bore me).

      So simply put, The Ambrose Beacon is not really my cup of tea.

      *eats a biscuit and avoids unsweetened tea*

      I really hate giving bad reviews. Especially DNFs.
  
Swift (The Flight and Flame Trilogy, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://travelingwife4life.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/swift-celebrate-lit/">Travelers Wife 4 Life</a>
Have you ever read a book that made you feel lost in another world? Well, if not, Swift by R.J. Anderson will change that. It is the first book in the series and is a great introduction to the world of fairies for someone not used to it.

I really enjoyed the character development in this story Ivy grows so much as the story progresses, always learning and willing to look at things from a different perspective. Ivy was a very well-done character, and with the addition of the secondary characters Richard and Molly, it left me very invested in their outcomes and the continuation of the story! (and no, this one does not leave off with a cliff hanger, just the idea of adventures yet to come).

The storyline and plot were like getting immersed in a totally new land filled with Pixi dust, fairies, and spriggans. It kept my imagination working to dream of all the different characters and what they might look like; everything was described in vivid detail, so it helped me imagine things as R.J. Anderson envisioned them. I loved the almost coming of age theme to this book and I am really looking forward to where R. J. Anderson will take this adventure next as so much already happened in this book.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the creative characters, the amazing storyline, and for the great themes that were presented.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.